Cristina & Owen Ficlets for Fanfic Challenge
by shli
Summary: Doing a fanfic challenge over at LiveJournal - ABC Last Author Standing - to keep from getting rusty.  Every 2 weeks, there is a prompt.  Entries are 100 to 1000 words.  I'll post my entries here after voting has closed for each round.
1. Teenage Dream

_Author's Note_: Wrote this for a fanfic challenge over at Livejournal. The prompt was "diners, drive-ins, and dives." And the fanfic had to be 100 to 1,000 words. Hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

**Teenage Dream**

"Hey, you ready to go?"

"Yeah…" Cristina turned around with one arm trying to find the sleeve of her coat. Owen came inside the locker room, took hold of the elusive sleeve, and helped her into her signature leather jacket. "Thanks," she said, slipping her bag over her head.

"How was your day?" he asked, tucking her hand in his as they exited the locker room together.

Cristina sighed. "Fine." Her tone said otherwise.

A look of concern crossed Owen's face as it often did in these past months. He didn't know how to help her. He'd tried having her in the OR with him, but it'd proven to be a mistake. And there was no way he would ever push her like that again. He couldn't do that to her, knowing how afraid she was. There was nothing he could as an attending, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to do everything for her as her husband.

"I heard an interesting rumor today."

"When did you start listening to the gossip?"

Owen shrugged. "Sometimes I just can't help it. People talk, and I hear it. Plus, it was about you, so I paid attention."

Cristina regarded him warily. "What did they say?"

"That your first boyfriend was in college. Your chemistry TA? Also, there was something about Avery with two girls on prom night. And Kepner still being a virgin?"

Cristina shook her head. _Must've been a slow news day if people are still talking about that. April will be thrilled._ "So?"

"Well, that means that you missed all the fun that comes with dating in high school. Having a guy pretend to yawn to put his arm around you during a movie. Carving your initials into a tree. Wearing a letterman jacket."

"I'm sorry. Did you go to high school in the fifties? No one does that anymore."

"Well, we are," Owen said, smiling. Having reached the truck, Owen reached into his pocket and unlocked the doors.

Cristina paused a few feet away from the truck. "What?" She spied boxes in back of Owen's truck and took an involuntary step back. "Are those what I think they are?"

"Yep. Stopped by my mother's place for some of my old things now that we've got space in the new house."

"Let me guess, you just happen to have an old letterman jacket in there."

Owen nodded. He reached into one of the boxes and pulled out an old varsity football jacket. "Humor me?" he asked, holding the jacket open in a welcoming gesture.

She couldn't resist the earnest smile on his face. He obviously had concocted some sort of plan for their evening that didn't involve going home and passing out right away. Shaking her head with a self-conscious laugh – and furtively glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Cristina removed her bag and coat and let Owen wrap her in his old jacket. "I look ridiculous," she said as he helped her into the passenger seat.

"I think it looks good on you," Owen replied, handing over her bag and coat then kissing her on the cheek as if to emphasize his point.

Cristina waited for him to get into the driver's seat before she spoke. "I bet you say that to all the girls who you put this jacket on."

"Well, since you're the only girl who I've put this jacket on, then I guess you're right," Owen said, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

A warm flutter of pleasure stirred within her, almost making her feel like a high school girl who'd just been asked out by the star quarterback. "So, where are we going?"

.~.~.~.~.

"A drive-in theatre? You've taken me to a drive-in movie theatre?" Cristina looked around her, feeling as though she'd gone back in time with its retro décor. A teenager in rollerskates made her way to Owen's side and asked to take his order. Cristina could barely hear him as she absorbed her surroundings. Her husband certainly didn't do things half-assed. First, it'd been watching the Northern Lights at the West Point Lighthouse, and now it was a date at a drive-in, replete with an old movie and a varsity jacket. "What movie are we watching?"

"'To Have or Have Not.' Bogart and Bacall."

"And they are…?"

Owen chuckled. "I thought you were raised in Hollywood." Cristina rolled her eyes at him. He continued, "Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, one of Hollywood's first power couples. They met on this film set. And the rest was history."

"Divorce?" Cristina guessed.

"No, they stayed married for the rest of his life." _Just like we are_. The words were unspoken, but Cristina could hear them just the same. She smiled.

As the opening credits rolled, their waitress came back with their burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Owen placed them on the dashboard, undid their seatbelts, and scooted closer to her side, putting an arm around her.

"You forgot to pretend to yawn," she remarked.

He chuckled. "Let's call it a husband's prerogative to put his arm around with his wife without pretending."

"What are we going to do afterward? Carve our initials into a tree?"

"I already did it. Though, it was on one of the wood support beams in our house, not a tree."

"Seriously?"

"I thought it'd be a nice way to make our house _ours_."

Cristina didn't speak for a moment, just looked at the man who clearly loved her. An idea popped into her head. "You know, I think you're missing something from your list." Cristina climbed into the backseat, pulling Owen with her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, bewildered but amused.

"Just because I never went on a date in high school doesn't mean I don't know what happens when you mix two horny teenagers and a backseat," she said with a naughty twinkle in her eye. "Wanna make out?"


	2. Can You Keep a Secret?

_Author's Note_: The prompt was "[character] finds out that everyone knows his/her secret."

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**Can You Keep a Secret?**

There was an extra bounce to Owen's step, which was made more noticeable by the fact that Owen Hunt was not the type to have _any_ bounces in his gait.

"Stop being so obvious," Cristina muttered under her breath, though she couldn't keep the smile out of her tone. It was endearing to see him so excited.

"I can't help myself," he replied. "You make me happy." He leaned in for a kiss. Cristina let their lips meet briefly before playfully swatting him away.

"People are staring." And they were, unaccustomed to them showing public displays of affection.

"Don't care." He swooped in for another kiss before she could stop him.

"All right, Romeo. Time to go to work. Remember, you can't tell anyone until after I've told Meredith, okay? Promise me."

"Promise."

.~.~.~.~.

Owen glanced down at his cell phone to see whether his wife had given him the green light to share their news. He wasn't sure who at work he'd tell first – probably the first person he ran into. Owen checked his watch – still too early to call his mother. _She must have told Meredith by now. It's been awhile… Maybe she's in surgery with Teddy._

Before he could go to the surgery board to check, Mark intercepted him with a clap on the back. "Congratulations, Hunt!"

"What?"

"I heard the news! You're going to be joining me in the fatherhood club."

Owen gave him a bewildered smile. "Wait, who told you?"

"Callie. Well, come on, man. We need to celebrate! We are taking you to Joe's tonight. Drinks for everyone – except Cristina, obviously. I—Derek's buying."

"Okay…" _How did Callie hear about it? I thought Cristina was telling Meredith first._ "Hold on, what do you mean by 'everyone'? Who else knows?"

Mark took a moment to think. "Well, just Callie, Meredith, Derek, Bailey, Teddy, the Chief, Lexie, Karev, Kepner, Avery, and me…so far."

"So far?" Owen asked, incredulously.

"Well, Arizona doesn't know. But she's still out of the country, so… Anyway, you gotta tell me. How'd it happen? Did Yang break out the sexy black lingerie again?"

"How do you know about _that_?" he replied, thinking back to the moment she'd tried to seduce him against his psychiatrist's orders.

Mark shrugged. "Callie."

Owen shook his head. Apparently, it wasn't Owen who had problems keeping secrets.

.~.~.~.~.

"Uh oh," Cristina said as she fished her pager out of her pocket and looked at it. A "911" from Owen. And she didn't think it had to do with a medical emergency. "I _knew_ Callie couldn't keep her mouth shut. You just had to yell, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry!" Meredith responded. She paused. "Move over. I'm falling off the bed." Cristina obeyed, sliding closer to the wall. The quiet on-call room provided a sanctuary for their silent reflections on their lives.

After Cristina had told Meredith that she was pregnant, her friend had screamed, "You're pregnant?" loud enough for the entire floor to hear. And it was just Cristina's luck that Callie, one of the hospital's most notorious gossips, had been within earshot. Apparently, her threats to make Callie's life a living hell should she spill had fallen on deaf ears.

Still, Cristina couldn't muster up any anger for her friend. She asked, for the tenth time, "Are you sure you're okay?" She knew that Meredith and Derek had been trying for several months now to get pregnant. But Meredith's hostile uterus was remaining stubbornly hostile.

Cristina took Meredith's hand in hers, subconsciously laying their joined hands on her growing belly – as though to let Meredith share this experience with her.

"I'm fine," Meredith promised. "I'm really happy for you." And she genuinely was. After a moment, she remarked, "You should probably go down to the pit and talk to Owen."

"In a minute. We can lie here for another minute."

And so they did, with Cristina letting the future godmother share a quiet moment with her future godchild just a little bit longer.

.~.~.~.~.

Owen spied Cristina the moment she turned the corner into the ER. He quickly met her halfway then led her into the closest empty exam room. "Quick consult, Dr. Yang?" he said for the benefit of those around, though no one was buying it.

The moment the doors closed, Cristina started speaking. "Owen, I know you're mad…"

"I'm not mad," Owen interjected. "Why would I be mad?"

"But you paged me down here. And Callie stole your thunder by blabbing. Well, her and Mark combined. So, I thought you were mad that you didn't get to tell anyone."

"Cristina," he said, pulling her close. "I could _never_ be angry with you for telling everyone we're having a baby. I honestly don't care if they know or not. As long as you're okay with people knowing, then that's all that matters."

"So…why the '911'?"

"Oh, that. I needed you to save me from the hugs and handshakes. I couldn't get any work done… You know, for some reason, some of them were offering me their sympathies. Sometimes, I still don't get the people who work here."

Cristina did. "They think that me plus hormonal mood swings equals 'duck and cover.'"

Owen chuckled. "Really? They think I can't handle your mood swings? I was in the military. I think I can handle it."

Cristina smiled in feigned agreement. Though, if she was completely honest, she'd admit that she, too, worried if Owen could survive the "war" called Cristina's pregnancy. "So, you're _sure_ that there's no one you want to personally tell about the baby?"

"Well, my mother should know, obviously. Actually, let me call her now." He whipped out his cell phone and hit the speed dial.

"Uh, about that…" Cristina started.

Before Owen could question her, his mother picked up. "Mom?"

"Owen, I want you and Cristina to come over tonight for dinner. It's never too soon to start feeding my grandchild."

Owen turned to his wife and laughed. "Is there anyone who _doesn't_ know?"


	3. Promises, Promises

_Author's Note_: The prompt was, "A known mistake is better than an unknown truth."

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**Promises, Promises**

_I do_. Cristina's words still rang clear in Owen's mind as if it were yesterday. _Well, it_ was _yesterday_, he thought, opening his eyes to the dim light of dusk that bathed their honeymoon suite in a rosy hue. He glanced over at Cristina, who lay softly snoring beside him. He could feel her breath tickling his skin with each exhale. She shivered slightly – the covers having shifted overnight – and subconsciously cuddled closer into the warmth of his bare chest. Owen smiled and carefully pulled up the blankets, cocooning them together. Cristina let out a sigh of content.

He loved mornings like these – when he could simply absorb the sight of her and revel in having her near. And now, he would have mornings like these for the rest of his life because Cristina had said, "I do."

Even though his arm was currently being used as a pillow and he couldn't see it, Owen could feel the unfamiliar weight of his wedding band on his finger. It felt permanent, and it felt…right. Like it was always meant to be there.

It always _would_ be there.

Owen resisted the urge to pinch himself and make sure he wasn't dreaming. When he'd first met Cristina and kissed her, he didn't know if he'd ever see her again. He'd long learned that Iraq didn't allow for certainties. But now, he was no longer in the army. Now, he could make plans – plans that involved spending the rest of his life with the woman he loved.

There was a phrase that he'd heard time and again while overseas, an Arabic proverb: "A known mistake is better than an unknown truth." Lord knew, he'd made _plenty_ of mistakes, especially when it came to Cristina. Last year alone was a record high.

It still pained him to think of what he'd put Cristina through. It had certainly not been his intention to catalyze a chain of painful events when he'd asked Teddy to come on as Cristina's cardiothoracic mentor. If he had known about Teddy's feelings for him, he never would have called her. There were other cardio attendings and other war buddies, but there was only one Cristina.

He had made a mistake.

It had been a mistake of disastrous proportions, wreaking havoc on their lives. Seeing Teddy had brought back all the baggage and unwanted memories of war, triggering his PTSD to the point of confusion. According to the proverb, things were better off now that all of it had come to light. Sure, Teddy could finally move on. And yes, it had brought Cristina and him closer.

But it was no excuse.

He had caused Cristina to question his feelings for her. And that was something that never should've happened. And he'd make sure it'd _never_ happen again.

His biggest regret was balking at her question. _"Do you love her or do you love me?"_ The heartbreak in her voice played over and over again in his head, weighing heavily on his conscience.

When he'd said his vows, he was promising to make it up to her every single day, to never make feel alone again. He would prove to her that he was – and would only ever be – in love with _her_, Cristina Yang. That it had always been her from the moment they'd met.

That was the truth.

And because the truth always bore repeating, Owen whispered into his sleeping wife's ear, "I will always love you."


	4. Make A Wish

_Author's Note_: The prompt was "someone makes a wish and it goes wrong (or right)."

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**Make a Wish**

At the age of five, a young Owen Hunt wished for a G.I. Joe action figure to complete his army of various sizes and species. After all, his platoon needed a leader if they were going to conquer their mortal enemies – his sister's Barbie dolls.

At the age of eleven, Cristina Yang wished for a new pair of ballet shoes. She had beat out her fellow ballerinas for the solo. And if she was going to do Clara justice in _The Nutcracker_, she was going to need some new shoes.

...

Even though he was far too cool now for elaborate birthday parties, Owen's mother insisted on inviting all his friends to celebrate his birthday. At the end of the day, Sarah Hunt brought out the same chocolate cake she always made for this occasion – each year adding a candle – and instructed her son to make a wish. He wished for a new car to replace his father's hand-me-down truck.

Standing outside her mailbox, Cristina closed her eyes as she inserted the key into the lock, desperately wishing for a thick envelope from UC Berkeley with a letter inside saying that she had been accepted into their graduate school.

...

As Owen sat silently in his seat on a flight back home after his second tour in Iraq, he contemplated what he was going to tell Dan's wife. He subconsciously patted the pocket of his army uniform and felt the heavy weight of Dan's ring, wishing for this day to end and the pain to go away.

Curled up in the middle of the bed with Meredith's arms tightly wrapped around her and with her wedding dress still partially on, Cristina tried to stop the seemingly endless stream of tears that flowed down her cheek. She shut her eyes so as not to see the brutal truth of the empty apartment around her. With all her might, she wished she could turn back time and make things right.

...

Owen could still feel the touch of Cristina's lips on his as he finally made his way to his mother's house. He wasn't one to go around kissing random women, but there was just something about Cristina that made her impossible to resist. And he just knew that he would have regretted not doing so before he had to head back to Iraq. Owen smiled and made a wish on a passing star that they would meet again.

Cristina lay in the semi-comfortable bunk bed in the on-call room and thought about Owen. How he was completely different from the man she'd first met – the man that had not yet lost nineteen of his fellow comrades in one fell swoop. _"…but now I'm living in the after."_ Cristina sighed and wished that they were living in the before.

...

Bursting with joy, Owen grinned as Cristina said, "I do." All else ceased to exist for him as he placed the platinum wedding band on her finger, next to her engagement ring. And he wished his father could've been here to see his son get married and meet the woman who now wore his mother's ring.

Secure in the warm embrace of her husband, Cristina reveled in the sensation of being free from the fear and stress that had plagued her since the shooting. She had been completely honest when she'd told Owen that she felt better. And for the first time in a long while, she was genuinely happy. Not wanting to let go of this feeling, Cristina wished she could just stay in bed with Owen all day.

...

Owen waited as Cristina and his mother brought out his customary birthday cake. He lifted his eight-month-old son in his arms and playfully nuzzled his round belly, causing him to coo with glee. Finally, he heard the familiar off-pitch singing voice of his wife mixed with his mother's raspier one and settled the baby into his lap. But this time, when his mother told him to make a wish, Owen couldn't think of anything. Seeing the beaming faces of his family surrounding him, Owen realized that he had everything he could ever wish for.


	5. Lazy Sundays

Prompt: Afternoon Thunderstorms

_Author's Note_: This is the final one as I got voted off. (So close to the end! Lol.) I hope you've all enjoyed it! :)

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**Lazy Sundays**

"Owen."

Owen stirred briefly but remained mostly asleep. He'd been on call at the hospital all night and hadn't gotten home until seven in the morning. And he often dreamt of his wife saying his name, so he couldn't be sure he wasn't dreaming now.

"Owen!" Accompanied with an insistent shove.

Guess he wasn't dreaming. Owen removed the pillow that was covering his head and rolled over. As he did, he absorbed more sounds and sights. The rumbling of thunder reverberated against the window panes of the firehouse, followed by a flash of lightning through the curtains. Owen stretched out his arms and let out a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Two thirty. I let you sleep in a little bit longer." Cristina leaned over his prone body to kiss him. Before she could pull away, Owen grabbed hold of her around the waist and tugged. She fell, laughing, onto the bed and into his awaiting arms.

"Let's just stay in bed all day," he said, nuzzling her neck and holding her close. "A lazy Sunday."

"We were supposed to go to the zoo, remember? To go see the lions, the bears, and the inland bearded dragon." After a beat, she added, "Oh my."

"That was _this_ Sunday?"

"Yeah… Though it doesn't seem like we're going to be able to go. It's raining pretty hard outside. Do the animals still stay outside if there's a thunderstorm going on? I'm not driving all the way over there just to see the lame animals that get hidden away because they're that lame."

Owen chuckled. "Want to catch a movie instead?"

"I already checked. There aren't any good Disney or Pixar movies out. We can rent one?"

"I think—"

Suddenly, the door to their bedroom slammed against the wall and the pitter pattering of feet scurried across the distance between the door and the bed.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Her small body came hurtling on top of them. Owen let out a groan as she accidentally kneed him in the gut.

"What's wrong, Penelope?" Cristina asked, tucking her daughter's hair behind her ear.

"It's so loud!"

"What is?"

"The thunder. It's making my windows shake." Penelope let out a melodramatic sigh. "It's like the sky is furious. F-U-R-I-O-U-S. Furious." She paused to let her parents appreciate her genius in using her new word of the day. "Can we go to the zoo now?"

"I'm sorry, honey, I don't think we can today. We'll go another day, okay?" Owen stroked the side of her cheek.

"I guess. Then what are we going to do today? I'm so _bored_."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'm too _bored_ to even think of something."

"I know, let's go camping," Owen suggested. With two females, camping wasn't a common occurrence. At first, Penelope was too young. But when she became old enough – and Cristina couldn't come up with a good enough excuse not to – they always seemed to be paged back to the hospital for one medical emergency or another. And the "medical emergencies" always seemed to involve whatever case Meredith Grey could dig up.

"Camping?" Cristina looked at her husband like he was crazy.

"Yeah! Let's go camping!" Penelope sat up and cheered.

"Go get your blankets. We're going to make a tent, get out the sleeping bags, and make S'mores."

"Yay!" And off she went, leaving her highly amused parents temporarily alone.

"Good thinking," Cristina said, turning toward Owen.

He smiled. "Not the zoo, but at least we can finally go on a camping trip that doesn't make you miserable."

Cristina burst into laughter. "Better than a lazy Sunday lying in bed?"

"Definitely better. Hanging out with my two favorite girls is always better."


End file.
